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Vogtle Expansion Cost Jumps Again; In-Service Dates Set for 2023

July 28, 2022

Southern Co. on July 28 increased its cost estimate for Georgia Power’s share of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear plant.

Southern, during an investor presentation of the company’s second-quarter financial results, said Georgia Power’s share of capital costs for the project has risen by $ 52 million, to about $ 10.5 billion in total. Georgia Power, the largest of four utilities owned by Southern Co., owns 45.7% of the project. The construction of Units 3 and 4 at Vogtle is years behind schedule, and the project’s price tag has ballooned to more than $ 30 billion, according to energy industry analysts.

The Vogtle expansion is adding two 1,117-MW Westinghouse AP1000 reactors to two existing units at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia. The project, when initially approved in 2009, was expected to cost about $ 14 billion, with the new reactors coming online in 2016 and 2017. Myriad issues have contributed to delays for the project, including the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and the coronavirus pandemic.…

Vogtle Nuclear Expansion Price Tag Tops $30 Billion

May 10, 2022

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An updated financial report from one of the owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia shows the cost to build two new reactors has now topped $ 30 billion, more than double the original price tag expected for the project.

The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), one of four groups with an ownership stake in the Vogtle expansion, on May 6 raised its total cost forecast for the project to $ 7.8 billion, up from $ 7.5 billion. The group’s updated figures, when combined with cost estimates from the other owners, push the cost to build two new 1,100-MW reactors at the site in Waynesboro, Georgia, to at least $ 30.3 billion.

The owners’ updated cost estimate does not include the $ 3.68 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the project’s owners after Westinghouse declared bankruptcy, putting total spending for the expansion in the range of $ 34 billion.

More Cost Overruns

MEAG, which provides power to city-owned utilities, owns 22.7% of Vogtle.…

Vogtle Start Dates Pushed Back Again

October 23, 2021

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Georgia Power has again pushed back the in-service dates for two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant, with Units 3 and 4 now projected to come online in the third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023, respectively.

Georgia Power in an Oct. 21 news release said its needs more time to deal with continued issues with construction, and to conduct more comprehensive testing to ensure quality and safety standards are met at the two-unit expansion project in Waynesboro, Georgia. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in late August said it would consider increasing oversight of the oft-delayed project.

It’s the fourth time in just the past six months that Georgia Power has announced a further delay in startup of the two units.

“As we’ve said from the beginning of this project, we are going to build these units the right way, without compromising safety and quality to achieve a schedule deadline,” said Chris Womack, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, in a statement.…

NRC Cites Problems at Vogtle, May Increase Project Oversight

August 30, 2021

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The post NRC Cites Problems at Vogtle, May Increase Project Oversight appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Continuing issues with the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia have led federal regulators to say they are considering increasing oversight of the project. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Aug. 26, in a letter to Southern Nuclear, which is leading the project along with its sister company Georgia Power, released its findings from an inspection conducted earlier this summer, with the agency reporting problems that could threaten the plant’s operation.

The Plant Vogtle project has been beset by numerous delays over the past several years, and is billions of dollars over budget. The NRC said its inspection came after Georgia Power earlier this year disclosed quality control issues with the expansion.

The NRC said it uncovered problems with electrical cables and systems that it said were apparently not installed correctly, including in some cases installed too close together.…

Fuel Loading Only Major Milestone Left for Vogtle Unit 3 Nuclear Project

July 30, 2021

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The post Fuel Loading Only Major Milestone Left for Vogtle Unit 3 Nuclear Project appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, reported during the company’s earnings call on July 29 that hot functional testing (HFT) had been completed on Vogtle Unit 3, and that the “next and final major milestone” is fuel load. “We project fuel load to occur sometime near year-end 2021 or early in 2022,” he said.

The Vogtle nuclear power plant expansion project includes the addition of two new Westinghouse AP1000 reactors—Units 3 and 4 at a site near Waynesboro, Georgia, that has two existing units. (Unit 1 began operation in 1987 and Unit 2 began operation in 1989.) The project is owned by four partners—Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power (45.7%), Oglethorpe Power Corp. (30%), Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power, 22.7%), and Dalton Utilities (1.6%).

Construction on Unit 3 and 4 has been a long, drawn-out process. Southern Nuclear (a subsidiary of Southern Company) filed for an early site permit (ESP) application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in August 2006.…

Testing Problems Push Vogtle Start to 2022

May 22, 2021

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The post Testing Problems Push Vogtle Start to 2022 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Southern Co. has moved the startup date for the first unit of its two-reactor expansion at the Vogtle nuclear power plant to the first quarter of 2022, citing problems found during testing. The company on May 18 notified Georgia state regulators of the delay. Analysts with Mizuho Group, an investment banking company, on May 21 said Southern interrupted “hot functional testing” of Unit 3 at Vogtle due to vibration of the plant’s pressurizer.

Executives with Southern Nuclear, the nuclear arm of Southern Co., and local utility and Southern subsidiary Georgia Power told the Georgia Public Service Commission they now are planning for the first of the two new 1,100-MW AP1000 reactors to enter operation at some point in the first three months of 2022.

Southern just two months ago announced a delay in testing of Unit 3, but at that time said the project remained on track for a November 2021 startup.…